Color My World

The Color My World Project (CMW) is a youth-run organization that raises awareness about the importance of recycling by engaging children and teenagers in a collaborative and community-based recycling project that also provides art supplies for young children. CMW recycles and repurposes crayons by collecting those that are discarded by national chain restaurants. Teenage members of the CMW team then donate those crayons to shelters, preschools, and elementary schools. President Obama recently made the point in his 2012 State of the Union address that teachers often have to pay out-of-pocket for school supplies. We do not think that is right. By donating crayons, CMW is giving children additional artistic opportunities and reducing the burden on teachers while simultaneously reducing thousands of pounds of landfill waste. Equally important, CMW’s teenage volunteers teach the young children about the importance of recycling and reducing waste. To expand our outreach, Color My World has created a coloring book (thanks to a few team members and an artist) that we hope to donate to shelters across the country. The coloring book will provide kids with the opportunity to learn about recycling while having fun and coloring outside the lines.

The Color My World Project has expanded across the country, and we plan to extend our operations to additional states in the near future. We donate to an increasing number of schools every few months, thereby widening the breadth of our impact and benefitting hundreds of children nationwide. We constantly bring on new youth leaders and hope to inspire others to take action as well.